Inuyasha: Transcending Fate
by fuuturistic-imaginaation
Summary: A continuation of the Inuyasha story taking place seventeen years after Kagome's return to the Feudal era. Inuyasha and Kagome have a family now, but even those with great power must face change for it always comes, just like the falling of the Sakura leaves. Journey with Inuyasha and his family and friends as they deal with the greatest change any of them will ever have to face.


**_A/N: Thank you all who have decided to read my story. This will be a long epic, but bear with me as I finally release the biggest idea I've ever had for an Inuyasha story. As stated, this takes place seventeen years after Kagome returns to the feudal era and marries Inuyasha. I've done a bit of research on the timeline of different eras of Japan, and this story takes place during the last few 30 years of the Muromachi period. Not everything may be historically correct, but I had lots of fun creating these plot points and hope you all will enjoy as well. There is also a tie in with another favorite anime of mine but that won't come in yet, so I'll just wait to reveal more until then. _**

**_This chapter will help set up the backdrop for new characters and what our old heroes have been up to. I shall cease the talking now, lol, and let the story begin!_**

**DISCLAIMER:_ I do not own Inuyasha. All rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Media, and other respecting parties. That aren't me. _**

* * *

_Chapter One_

**The Legend of the Powerful Miko and the Family Left Behind**

* * *

"**I**nuyasha...

...Inuyasha...

_Inuyasha!_"

"What?"

"Stop pacing."

"I'm not pacing."

"Yes you are. You're digging a hole in the floor."

"No I'm not, Kagome."

"Can you please just sit down and rest?"

"Look at it out there. Does it look like it's safe to rest right now?"

Inuyasha couldn't stand it. The Kurai region, known to many simply as the Dark Country, was known for its many feuding diayoukai but never did Inuyasha want to get in the middle of it. But he had no choice in the matter as he sat vigil and helpless. Damn the new moon, cursing his body like this. He looked through the shades to still see the large dragonfly-like demons surrounding the area. They belonged to the bandits that attacked the area just merely an hour ago. He didn't know much about dragon demons but that they usually they slept peacefully in their own caves high up in the mountains. Why the hell were they attacking everyone then? And how the hell was he going to get Kagome out of there safely?

"Can you at least sit with me?"

He turned away from the window of the abandoned hut and looked back over to Kagome, feeling a fraction of guilt for leaving her sitting by her lonesome. He hopped off the steps and made his way to crouch beside her.

"How's your side?"

She lifted the pressure off her hip that she inflicted from her hands, revealing the gash in her side. The bandage was stained red, but not as bad as before.

"Better," she sighed. "You don't think this hurt the baby, do you?"

He placed a hand on her swollen belly. "Not a chance. This little guy's way too strong for that."

"_Or girl_," she playfully corrected.

"Hmph," he cracked the smallest of smirks, "Hiten needs a little brother to play with."

He saw her hand clasp to his right then, and watched her eyes slit as she looked towards the window. "How do you think he is right now? He's probably sick with worry for us, Inuyasha..."

He sat closer to her. "Sango and the others vowed on their lives to protect him while we're gone, so we're going to trust that. It looks like we landed ourselves straight in the middle of a civil war in this country, but they know nothing of Musashi so our family's safe," he then placed a palm to her cheek. "You're the one I'm worried about."

A fist clenched against her lower lip. "It's my fault. We should have just found another way instead of me trying to break this land's barrier. If only-"

But Inuyasha didn't want to hear any of that. "Don't even try to blame yourself, Kagome; we don't have time for that. Going around along the river would have doubled our trip time. Look at your stomach, we're gonna get this baby any day now. No way in hell I was gonna risk you or our kid's health by going that way. We're gonna get out of here, alright? Trust me. Now if you're done entertaining such stupid thoughts you can concentrate on making yourself feel better."

"Easier said than done," she mumbled. Inuyasha cocked his head her way after that, but the long stare he exchanged didn't match her look of defeat. The last thing he wanted was a stare down.

The first thing he wanted was safety for his wife and his child.

The second was the selfish satisfaction of knowing he could make everything okay.

He positioned himself back against the wall. "C'mere," and he began gently pulling at Kagome's waist, ushering her to scoot towards him. Confused, she silently obeyed and slid closer, positioning herself so she was in between his lap. And there he held her, making sure she felt the wieght of his arms secured around her.

She sighed out a few seconds longer before turning back to him with a small smile. "Now who's all calm and reassured?"

"Keh. We have enough problems without worrying about you stressing yourself out to death."

"We're always fated to have problems, it seems..."

"Mn. That just makes us tougher than everybody else. More than anything we're survivors."

She nestled the top of her head under his chin. "You more so than anyone. I can't wait to watch Hiten grow, ya know... I know you're gonna be able to teach him so much about life, do all the things a father should do."

He was taken aback by her compliment. "...You sure about that?"

"Without a doubt. I remember your voice from those years ago...calling to me when we were separated by the jewel. You said we were born to meet each other. What if it's more than that, Inuyasha? These beautiful children we're bringing into this world, won't just be little versions of ourselves, they'll learn from our mistakes and protect this world in their own right, or better yet live in the peace we've made for them. They'll be more important to the world than we were, and it was our job to create them. It honestly does scare me sometimes to think about it. Being a mom, doing right by them. But having you here with me makes it so much easier, Inuyasha. You force me to be tough and it's the glimpses of you that I see right now that makes me miss the father that I never knew, but happy that I'll be able to give that to our children. Thank you."

He was silent for a long while, but he was just able to hold her tighter, grateful that even after all these years and all the hardships they had to face, she still believed so much in him. "There's no need for it, thanking me, Kagome. All I do is love them...

and love you."

* * *

…

**I**nuyasha continued to cock his head high and watch as the branches of the Sacred Tree stood vigil over him. He was wasting too much time, he knew, but every year he just had to revisit his memories.

It was like this for the past ten minutes or so: a silence that rivaled that of the ether, and the chillest of winds whispering past his ear, saying sweet nothings of the passing years alone.

Though he never admitted it to anyone, he marked this as another year of survival, and every

marking of time's past led him to this very tree, the very symbol of his lifeline and the battles he fought.

In the Eden of his heart this was just another day. He would quickly return to his family and friends to live amongst the peace of the land. He'd be with his children, and he'd be with Kagome.

…_But she's dead._

The trees whispered the same taunting reminder every time he came. _This is a fate even you can't change, Inuyasha._

_She's forever gone and can never come back to you. _

Inuyasha decided he remembered enough for the day, and turned on his heel to head back towards his village.

_I know she's gone_, he wanted to whisper back. _Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt like hell every once in a while. _

* * *

"**O**kay, Kaoru, one more time," the young fox demon warrior knelt in front of his audience of one. He was right outside the bone eater's well and found training as a great way to pass the time. "The target is that tree right there. All you gotta do is keep that arrow true, aim and fire!"

The young girl slouched her shoulders, not feeling an ounce of the excitement of her instructor. "But my arms are tired!"

"But you're a natural!"

"She's never gonna get it, Shippo," the tall youth leaning against the well called. "Why don't you just give it a rest?"

"You're the big brother, Hiten. You should be teaching her this stuff."

"Our father said there's no need to force her. When she's ready to learn, she'll learn."

Kaoru continued talking while trying to steady her hand. "None of it matters anyway. Papa's gonna come to bring us all to gran's any minute—oh hey!" and forgetting what she was aiming for she released her arrow and threw her bow to the ground the second she saw the tall figure approaching.

"PAPA!"

The arrow missed the marked tree Shippo set up completely and almost scarred the side of his face. "Heeeey!" he shouted once he successfully dodged. What an utter lack of concentration. "Like father, like daughter," he muttered to himself.

The young mut twitched her ears in complete elation as she sprinted to his side. Hiten stood as well.

"Papa, just in time!" and she tugged on his haori.

Inuyasha smiled, a sight he only permitted his children to see. "I trust you didn't give your brother or Shippo any trouble, right Kaoru?"

"Just the opposite," she crossed her arms. "They've been bugging me nonstop about these stupid archery lessons."

Inuyasha cocked his head to his friend. "I thought that little demonstration back at the compound was a one time thing, Shippo."

"You're denying her a rite of passage, my friend!" Shippo exclaimed as he walked next to Hiten, placing his hands on his shoulders. "You've got a fine young boy here. Fifteen years of bulking him up to be the next—well _you_! Don't you think little Kaoru needs in on the fun too?"

"I have just enough fun learning from Uncle and Lady Kaede, thank you very much. Mama was three years older than me when she learned how to use a bow. I say I'm doing pretty good."

"Don't worry about Shippo; he just doesn't want anyone to know what a scrawny little weakling he was back in the day," Inuyasha snorted. Although he would forever give the young fox trouble for the days he knew him as just a small child, even Inuyasha couldn't deny how much Shippo had grown in the past twenty years. He was only an inch or so shorter than him, and with his hair growing past his shoulders, so did his tail, a physical representation of his newfound strength and not just a bushy poof-ball anymore. Yup, he was no longer so small, and actually helped a lot during battles and with gathering information about the surrounding areas. But no matter how much he would grow, Inuyasha always felt comfort in knowing he found him as just a kid and was able to see him through his journies in life.

But Shippo challenged him. "I'll have you know, the second I passed my fox demon exams, I challenged your _oh-so awesome_ father to a sparring match and won!"

"HA! No way," Hiten cackled.

"Yeah way! Inuyasha was begging for mercy."

"Oh please, idiot," Inuyasha scoffed. "I was doing you a favor; everyone said to go easy on ya so that's what I did."

"There there, dog brain, no need to save face for your offspring. They should know what a cry baby their dad is."

"You wanna go, mangy little brat, cuz I'll cut you in half with Tetsusaiga right now!"

"You're not the only one with a fancy sword anymore, Inuyasha, let's bring it!"

While the two so-called adults kept fighting, Kaoru moved her way next to her brother and sighed against the well.

"Papa's being immature, again."

"I shouldn't be enjoying this, but I can't deny how hilarious this is," Hiten smirked.

"Ugh, gran's probably waiting. She probably has cake and other sweets ready right now."

"You eat too many sweets when we're in mama's time, Kaoru."

"Yeah, and?"

"_And_ keep it up and you'll be too fat to even hold a bow and arrow."

"Hey, it's my birthday, I'll get fat all I want!"

"'Kay, you'll do that then me and Pop's gonna have to shove your fat butt back in that well."

When the two finally paid their attention back to the howling testosterone match in the field in front of them, Inuyasha had his Tetsusaiga unsheathed and Shippo had an arm blazing with his fox fire before they heard the rumble of thunder sound throughout the treetops surrounding them.

"Papa! Shippo! It's about to rain!" Kaoru called.

"Yeah, Father we should go before it starts raining on the other side, too."

Even though Inuyasha was itching to have another sparring match with the kid, he decided against it and put Tetsusaiga back to his side.

"Alright," he sighed, a little disappointed he couldn't test his friend's new skills. "Guess we'll have to do this when I get back, Shippo."

"Fine by me!" he cheesed as if it were nothing and extinguished his fire. "I'll just hang here with Miroku and the others 'til you get back. And if you could bring back some extra supplies, that'd be great for our trip tomorrow."

"Trip?" Hiten interrupted. "Is it a demon extermination thing? Can I go?" and he stared on as Inuyasha made his way toward him.

"Nope. You're still beginning, Hiten. And besides, your sword from Totosai isn't even finished yet."

He ruffled his shaggy raven hair and those golden eyes revealed all of his disappointment. "Aw, come on, Pop! What if you and Shippo need back up? I could still be of some use."

"I'd rather you here," he still refused.

"And hey," added Shippo. "You can help Kaoru with her archery while we're gone."

"Nooo thanks," Kaoru turned her nose away at the suggestion of her brother training her. For once Hiten agreed with his sister. "Yeah, I'm with her. No thanks."

Inuyasha sighed at the scene but decided to give it up so they could go. He crouched down a bit for his daughter to make her way onto his back. He'd missed the feeling of that special weight around him, but Kaoru always helped to fill that void. "Ready, Kaoru?"

"Mhm!" and she locked her arms securely around her father's neck. Inuaysha jumped on top of the well's edge and turned to give one last goodbye to his friend. "Make sure you keep an eye out for that group from Nakushima, Shippo. They have ten minutes to honor whatever they need to honor then I want them out the village."

Shippo leaned back into a stretch and simply waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, same ol', same ol'. Just don't forget to bring me back some cake!"

Inuyasha shook his head in amusement and gave him a signalling "ok". He then made sure his son was by his side before the three descended into the magical void of the bone eater's well.

* * *

**I**nuyasha never knew exactly the limitations of the well and what it did and did not allow to pass, but he was always grateful his children were able to use it with him. Having them able to be surrounded by Kagome's family in hard times always helped them. Granted, he didn't like to visit much after Kagome's passing, but he could tell how much it meant to Kagome's mother to get to know her grandchildren, and Inuyasha would be lying through his canine teeth if he said he didn't need the help every now and then.

The three stood at the door and Inuyasha wanted to give his litter one last look before knocking on the door. They looked fine enough, he decided, and rung the bell for the door.

"I've always wondered when all this stuff gets built in our time," Hiten muttered.

"Ooh, how about we build it ourselves!" suggested Kaoru.

But Inuyasha shook his head. "Nah, your mother used to tell me how stuff in this time can change if it gets altered too much in the past."

"Sounds complicated," Kaoru wrinkled her nose.

"Yeah, pretty much..."

"Or," Hitten started, "any changes we make could just make new universes that run parrellel to Mama's time, and won't affect it at all. That's called the multiverse theory, actually." And with that he left his father and sister to give him very strange looks.

"What?" he defended. "It's in one of the books Uncle Sota let me read. It's just a theory..."

"That sounds even _more_ complicated," Kaoru crossed her arms.

"Hold on to those smarts, kid. You'll never know when they'll come in handy," Inuyasha chuckled to himself. The fascination Hiten had with knowledge and reading was truly a mystery. Inuyasha only knew how to read because of the little things Kagome and his own mother taught him, and even though Kagome was the smartest person he knew, according to her family she was never the greatest at her studies.

Footsteps could finally be heard on the other side and Mama Higurashi finally revealed herself when she opened the door.

"Yes! My sweet angels have returned!" and she attacked the children with the tightest of hugs, Iten quickly becoming a blushing shy person and Kaoru equally hugging back with great force.

"Gran hi!"

"How are you doing, Gran?" Hiten asked.

"Better than ever now that I get to spend someone's special day with her," and she combed her delicate fingers through her grandaughter's mane, leaving the child to show off her small canines and smile ear to ear.

"I'm ready for cake, I can tell you that."

"And you're gonna wait till you're 'sposed to eat, Kaoru," Inuyasha instructed. Mama Higurashi smiled at the scene and looked up at her son-in-law. "And how about you, Inuyasha? How's my old son doing?"

Inuyasha mimmicked the expression on his son's face and blushed a little. Inuyasha could always tell where Kagome got many of her features from, especially her kindness. Her mother showed such positive energy every time they were together, the only time he ever seeing her tears were with meeting Hiten and Kaoru for the first time. And of course, her daughter's passing. "Uh, just fine, Gran. I hope these two won't give you any trouble."

She waved the thought away. "Of course they won't. They're the ones keeping me company, after all. Come in, I have snacks for you guys!"

"YES FOOD!" Kaoru was the first to hurry inside. Hiten instead offered a final bow before catching up to his sister. The two adults were the last ones standing in the doorway. And just like a mother should, Mama Higurashi offered her hand to the hanyo beside her.

"I didn't mean just the kids, Inuyasha. Come on."

His original plans were just to drop the kids off, knowing how they looked forward to the time with Kagome's family. For himself it had been quite some time since he last stayed at the shrine for more than a few minutes when it wasn't for Kaoru's birthday. "You sure?"

"This is your home, too, is it not? Come and help me with this ramen. Don't you dare try to deny me this time with you, got it?"

Inuyasha couldn't fight the smirk rising and simply nodded as he finally stepped inside. Yep, definitely like mother like daughter.

* * *

**S**hippo sat at the highest rooftop of the village, staring on vigilly at the passerby's below trying to scurry out of the rain. Usually he didn't always like to follow Inuyasha's orders, but this particular one he happened to agree with and put up no fight.

"Hm, maybe if I tell the Nakushimashi that we burried Kagome's ashes in a ditch somewhere up in Hokkaido, they'd finally stop coming here and leave us the hell alone," Shippo sighed. Simply put, he wasn't a big fan of the pilgrimage that visited Musashi every year, and luckily, neither were his friends. But because they came to pay their respects to Kagome's resting place, Kaede and Inuyasha never had the heart to turn them away.

He looked on to see if he saw any large groups approaching, or any carriage with the Nakushima branding, but what he did see caught his attention a lot more.

"Hey...is that...? Yup! Know that scent from a mile away!" and he sprung on his heels to jump up and disappear with nothing but a tiny spark of blue flame left in his tracks.

The young woman that was seen travelling below let her sword be her cover from the rain as she walked hunched over and physically drained. Her demon slayer uniform was slightly tattered and she had a really bad knick in her shoulder. Technically she should be walking the opposite direction towards Lady Rin and Kaede's to get patched up, but she was too tired and simply wanted to rest at home.

"Ah...I hope Mama's not too busy and will let me go to the hot spring. I could definitely use a nice, relaxing-"

"HEY MAI!"

"AHH!"

She jumped around suddenly and raised her her fang-like blade ready to strike, but paused in mid-air when she realized who was standing behind her.

"Oh, Shippo, it's just you."

"Y-yeah," he stuttered while staring at the giant blade that was only an inch from his nose. What was up with girls trying to hurt him today? "Good thing it wasn't someone else, or the poor guy would've been decapitated right now."

"I'm sorry about that," she offered an apologetic smile. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, going just fine. I could ask you the same question though," and he dug through his vest to pull out a small leaf, and with a snap of a finger it expanded to create a makeshift umbrella. He let it hang over the both of their heads to help shield her from the rain. "Looks like you had a rough morning, Mai... You okay?"

Her cheeks colored at the sound of his concern and she hurriedly waved her arms. "Oh, I'm just fine! The demon me and Uncle had to exterminate gave up some fight but one of my dad's sutra's helped us trap it long enough to slay it."

"Ah, speaking of, where is Kohaku, anyway?"

"Oh, he went to Lady Rin to help with a wound he received. It shouldn't be too bad once she tends to it. I'm on my way home to let my family know I'm back."

Shippo tapped on his chin in thought. "Think his wound is too serious to travel with me and Inuyasha tomorrow? We've heard rumors about a couple of dragon fly demons pestering a village up north. It could be our first lead in a while to finding out about the group from the Kurai region that attacked those dark country villages twelve years ago."

She looked up at the sky as she nodded. "Mhm, if he follows Rin's orders he should be fine. Is Lord Inuyasha doing well today? I know he must have his hands full with Kaoru since it's her birthday, but it's also the anniversary of Lady Kagome's death...I know it must be hard on him..."

Though he never liked to, Shippo let his playfulness fall as he looked up at the rainy sky, searching for nothing in particular. "Yeah, Inuyasha's gotten a lot better at dealing with it. He'll be okay. Though I envy him. This time of year's always the perfect excuse to visit Kagome's family, so he doesn't have to deal with that pesky pilgrimage group from Nakushima."

"Oh yeah, I forgot they would visit. The first fallings of the Sakura blossoms usually give them signal to come. Hopefully it won't be that bad of a visit."

"Sure. I just wish I was in Inuyasha and his kids' place right now. Stuffing my face with sweets, best birthday present I could ever wish for."

* * *

"**S**o have the kids been well?" Mama Higurashi started conversation as she finished up on the stove. She and Inuyasha settled in the kitchen as the children kept their uncle Sota company in the family room. Inuyasha propped his chair on its hind legs as he rocked back and forth. "Oh yeah. Kaoru's been learning about healing herbs and potions to help around with the villagers back home, and Hiten is getting a new sword to train with-"

He heard a sudden drop and turned to see a wooden spoon hit the floor and her hand raised to her chest in shock. Inuyasha hurriedly tried to calm her nerves. "He's been safe though, Gran, don't worry! Never in Hell would I actually agree to let him have one if I didn't think he was ready for it. And besides, this little project is special for him. He used the bark from the Sacred Tree to help him with its design."

Mama Higurashi turned to him. "The Sacred Tree, you say?"

"Yeah. He wanted to have something that would connect him to his mother," and he paused himself as he dug his eyes into the wood of the table in deep thought, "...and I couldn't take that away from him."

Meanwhile, the children were enjoying themselves as they settled in the family room. Hiten was walking along the bookshelf that belonged to his great grandfather, and Kaoru sat on a pillow, mesmerized at how fast she could turn the TV channels.

"Okay, Hiten," Souta started questioning his nephew as he sat down next to Kaoru and propped his feet up, "did you finish reading that last book I lent you?"

Hiten stopped his searching and dug around in the pockets of his hakama. "Yeah, I did actually, and it was awesome!" He revealed the tiny book and started running his fingers through the pages. "No one in the village really know who Minamoto Tametomo was, but reading about his swordsman and archery skills is like tapping into a goldmine of information. It's like I have a secret passageway into the greatness of the past or something."

Souta smiled warmly at hearing Hiten speak so fondly of that old book. He became a history teacher for the very purpose of watching others get excited about being able to learn from the past, and out of all his students, Hiten was that one mind that burned the brightest, that truly loved to soak up just as much information as he did. He surely didn't get that from his mother, he knew that much.

"Haha, glad to know I'm not the only one around here who appreciates a good book!"

"I didn't get it," Kaoru interrupted from her search through TV channels.

"Of course you didn't get it," Hiten rolled his eyes. "You don't have the attention span to even decide on a television channel. Why do you even bother? You don't understand what they're even talking about, anyway."

"So? I can enjoy talking magical people just as much as the next guy."

Souta laughed. Every time he almost forgot that half of his family settled 500 years in the past, he was always reminded by small moments like this. Things around the Higurashi shrine were pretty quiet once Gramps and Kagome passed away, but even on such a sad day he got to spend it with those who loved them just as much as he did. It made that sadness just a little easier to handle.

* * *

**M**ama Higurashi smiled on as she spied on her family after serving Inuyasha his ramen. "Look at them in there. They really do have the best of both worlds, don't they?"

Inuyasha spoke while slurping down on his noodles, still never committing to chopsticks after all these years. "I'm just glad they're able to have some peace here."

Mama Higurashi sat down across from her son-in-law and crossed her fingers together. "Say...Inuyasha, you guys haven't encountered any dangers in the past, have you? The village has been safe for them?"

He stopped slurping. "Huh? Dangers? None at all! The biggest thing Hiten and Kaoru have to worry about are those pesky pilgrims that come every year. They always like to bother the kids on this day, so I've made our stay here last a little longer over the years."

"Ah," Mama Higurashi chuckled. "And I just thought it was cuz you guys loved it here so much. Aren't they the group you said that goes to honor Kagome and pray near the Sacred Tree?"

"Yeah, and because of that I let them come; I know it's what Kagome would've wanted. But they impose a lot on the other villagers and they believe in...I 'dunno, some weird stuff. It's a God I've never heard of before, and they claim Kagome to be some sort of sign their deliverance or something. If it gets too bad then I plan on letting them leave for good, but for right now...I'm learning to just suck it up and not mess up the peace."

Mama Higurashi smiled as she leaned forward to scratch behind Inuyasha's ears, a habit she always did to reward him for good behaivor.

"HEY!" he shouted.

"Aw, whoever would've known that you would grow to be such the wise man. I guess my daughter really did do a number on you!"

* * *

**M**ayumi held tightly to the barrel of rice she carried all the way from the neighboring village, releaved the rain started to die down. The demon her father told her to expel wasn't even any bigger than a salamander, and she felt so guilty for conning them out of a giant barrel like this, but with her father's twisted ankle it was all that could be done. As she made her way closer to her home she could see her mother washing clothes outside one of the huts. But just as she was about to call over, a group of people blocked her view.

One man stood tall and center, and wasted no time in grabbing Mayumi's hand, causing her to drop the barrel of rice.

"Heey!"

"Hellooo there, young lady, it is such a pleasure to be here in your blessed village once again and I see the Sakura trees make such a nice landscape this year and its the perfect time to honor the fallen so if you kindly don't mind my asking, have you seen the half-demon Inuyasha around anywhere we have some newcomers in the group and they are just dying to meet him!"

Mayumi stood immobilized as the man finally took a breath. She couldn't comprehend half of what he was saying. Before she could open her mouth to respond he continued on again.

"Oh and where are my manners? The name is Tatsuya," and he still kept shaking her hand.

"Uh..." she finally got out. "Of course..." and with still keeping her smile she turned her head toward the direction of her home and her mother finishing up the laundry.

"UH, MAMA! THEY'RE BACK AGAIN!"

* * *

**M**iroku and Sango tried to exist in the awkwardness as best they could, but couldn't fight much of it as they sat in the main room of their small compound, facing the group of travellers from the Nakushima village. Their children sat beside them as well, sharing the exact same expressions of false-enthusiasm. Their eldest son, Shuichi, leaned to whisper in his father's ear.

"Where did you guys say Shinji went off to?" he asked, referring to his younger brother.

"He's over at Lady Kaede's," Miroku whispered back.

"Ahhh," and he sighed while ruffling his hair. "Lucky bastard..."

_Tell me about it_, Miroku wanted to respond back.

"Hey," Sango leaned over to his other side to speak low. "Is it me or have they doubled in size this past year?"

"Yeah I think so, it's making our home feel even tinier than it is."

"Hey, Mama," it was Mayumi's turn to lean forward and whisper to her mother. "What are those strange crosses everyone's wearing around their necks?"

But before she could respond, the strange young man known as Tatsuya interrupted. "Why, it's the symbol of our Lord and Savior! He was killed on a cross much like these, all to save us from sin and allow us to rise to heaven along with him when we pass on."

"Lord? Like a daimyo?"

Tatsuya slapped his knee in laughter. "Ohh, no no no no no. He's much more powerful than even our daimyo, and answers only to God."

"Oh," Mayumi tapped her chin. "Which one?"

But a tiny uproar occurred and the travellers all started whispering about how "ignorant" and "sinful" the young woman must be. Sango quickly found that enough and raised her voice.

"If you all would be so kind," she spoke through her teeth, "to quiet your voices. My daughter's curiousity does not make her _sinful_ in the least."

Tatsuya quickly tried to correct the tension in the air. "Oh, of course, ma'am, not at all! We welcome all that are curious to our faith, and your daughter is completely free to ask questions."

But Mayumi crossed her arms and turned her cheek away from the group that were quickly becoming annoyances to her. "Nevermind, I have no more."

"Now if I could so kindly ask," Miroku started, "is there something we could help you all with?"

"Oh! Right!" Tatsuya cleared his throat. "As you can see we have some new members to our group, and they were very fond of meeting the half-demon Inuyasha this time. Is there a chance that he's in the village?"

"Oh, we're sorry," Sango smiled, clearly happy about what she was about to say, "but Inuyasha is away with his children today, visiting other family members."

"Ah, I see...again we've missed him. Do you have any inkling as to when he'll return?"

"Probably not until the morning tomorrow."

"Ahh...I see..." and he turned to his party. "Well, guys, I guess that means that we can't visit Inuyasha today."

A group sigh of dejection sounded in the room and Miroku and Sango tried their best to hide their sweat drops of relief.

"...so instead we'll just have to stay here until the morning so we can see him!"

"WHAT!?" The couple and their children all shouted in unison.

Tatsuya turned to the group of four with the same smile on his face. "That wouldn't be a problem, will it?"

"Uh...well...you see..."

Before anyone could think of an answer as to why they would be refused, two more bodies made their way into their home.

"Hey Miroku!" The familiar voice of Shippo called. "How's your-" but as he opened his eyes he was greeted with the very people he was unsuccessfully on the look out for. "Oh no..."

"Uh...hello..." Mai offered an unceremoneous greeting.

Tatsuya smiled ear to ear as he rose from his seat to shake Shippo's hand. "Oh hey! It's you! The fox demon!"

Other members of the Nakushima village began their whispers.

"The fox demon?"

"_The real_ fox demon?"

"That's right," Tatsuya answered, "the fox demon Shippo! One of the fearless members of the Kagomeshi!"

"The Kagomeshi?" both Miroku and Sango questioned.

Shippo furrowed his brow. "The _Kago-what now?_"

"The Kagomeshi! The band of warriors that used to accompany the blessed Kagome on her missions, and since then has grown in members to band together and find the culprits of her death. There's you, the fox demon, that demon slayer with the giant demon bone axe, the retired married pair-"

"Hey," Miroku tried to object, "who said we're retire-"

"The wolf demon leaders in the Northern Mountains, aaand the young female demon slayer with the wind-blade—hey!" and Tatsuya quickly turned back to Mayumi. "How could I be so clueless? That's you isn't it!?"

But Mayumi just glared harder and crossed her arms again. "No, you're thinking of my sister," and she pointed behind him to reveal her brown-haired duplicate. Mai, who was behind Shippo, rubbed the back of her neck. "Uh, hello," she repeated.

"Anyway," Miroku tried to steer the conversation in the right direction. "Staying overnight won't be necessary if all you need is to pass something along. We'll make sure Inuyasha-"

"But you see, monk," Tatsuya once again interrupted. "We _have_ to see Inuyasha. I personally have something of grave importance to ask him! You see..." and he sat back down to continue his story, leaving Shippo once again annoyed as he leaned back against the nearest wall. "My sister Ayana, the priestess of our own village, usually accompanies me on these travels, but this year she has been struck ill, dangerously to the point where we believe death is at her door. It's devastated our daimyo and every one else in the village. Her powers are stronger than even my own, and without her I alone am not powerful enough to maintain the barrier around our village and stop the neighboring demons from attacking the civilian homes."

"Oh yeah," Shuichi remembered. "You're the only human clan out of the entire Dark Country, right?"

"Sadly, yes," Tatsuya nodded solemnly. "We would not have survived the night those mysterious bandits attacked the country had it not been for your Lady Kagome, our own saint. She purified an entire clan and gave us hope in that desolate land we must call home."

Sango looked to her husband before looking back at the young priest. "As much as we are grateful for what Kagome was able to do for you, and we feel sympathy for your misfortune, what exactly does that have to do with Inuyasha?"

"Well you see, we've heard on our long travels that Saint Kagome was the best at creating medicine to heal the sick. We've also heard that she had her own chamber of secret medicinal herbs and ailments, and Inuyasha was the only one to have access to it. We know it just may be rumors, but if there is any truth to it at all, maybe the blessed Kagome has left behind something, anything that could help my dear sister."

Miroku, Sango, and Shippo all exchanged similar looks. If it's a chamber of secret medicine, he may just have been referring to the magical well that trancends to Kagome's time. It was there where she was able to bring back all kinds of medicine the group had never heard of before. But to this day it was the gang's most guarded secret. No one outside of the few in Musashi knew that Kagome was from another time.

Although they could see the desperation in the young priest's face, they could never reveal that to anyone.

But maybe there was something else that could help him.

"We don't know of any secret chambers or anything like that in Kagome's possession," Miroku started. "But she has worked closely with Lady Kaede, the eldest priestess in the village. Maybe she has something from Kagome that could help you."

Tatsuya stared long and hard at the group, making the silence grow to uncomfortable heights before sighing in defeat. "Ah, Lady Kaede, is it? Maybe we can pay her a visit before questioning the half-demon." And he rose from his position and turned to his group. "But first, I can't forget our reason for coming now, can I? Is it alright if I take them to pay our respects near the Goshinboku?"

Sango looked to Miroku before nodding in agreement. "Yeah, sure."

Tatsuya then bowed to the group. "Thank you kindly for your help today. Saint Kagome was extremely lucky to have such loyal followers. Come now, everyone! I shall show you to the holy resting place!"

Shippo wrinkled his nose in confusion as he watched the big group leave. "Saint?" he questioned like the word was never heard of before.

When the last of the visitors was a ways down from their compound, Mayumi sighed heavily and slouched back against the wall. "Thank goodness, I thought they'd never leave!"

Miroku massaged the cast on his ankle and rested his cheek against his palm. "It doesn't sound like they will actually. Even if they talk to Lady Kaede, I have a feeling they won't leave here until hearing from Inuyasha himself."

"I know we've heard bits and pieces," Mai moved from her place near the door and sat opposite her younger brother, "but I don't think we know fully about the Nakushima or what happened that night Lady Kagome died."

"It's not exactly what I'd call a campfire story," Shippo crossed his arms.

"Shippo's right," Sango placed her fists in her lap. "It's not something we all like to remember, and only Inuyasha knows of all that truly happened back then, but she really is honored by them as some type of saint as they call it."

"See kids," Miroku started, "As you know, the Nakushima is the only human clan in Dark Country, a land a long way's south of here, and named so mainly because of the many warring demon clans that found home there over the years and started slowly killing off the other human clans. The Nakushima's old daimyo was given a sword that could put up a barrier strong enough to keep all the other demons at bay, until he died by the hands of their rival clan of these cat-like demons, the Toradashi. The barrier was then erradicated, and the Toradashi held control of the Nakushima in exchange for their protection from the other demons."

"The Dark Country is marked by a long mountain range surrounding it," Sango continued the story, "and the only way through it had been blocked off by another demon clan. So when Inuyasha and Kagome had to travel to Kyoto to expell of a demon that had been torturing their lands, they had to pass along the river, though that lengthened their trip by a few days. It was a dangerous journey since Kagome was expecting little Kaoru to come soon, and Inuyasha would come under the curse of the new moon that night, so they tried to hurry along the river as quick as possible, but a giant barrier blocked their way and stopped anyone from passing."

"Apparently a slaughter was going on inside that barrier, and Kagome was able to purify it to try to allow she and Inuyasha through."

"So the story is true...?" Shuichi looked at his sisters, for they all heard of the legend but was always too afraid to ask Inuyasha directly. "Kagome was powerful enough to purify an entire demon clan?"

"Yes," Sango then held tightly to her husband's hand. "That was the last attack she was able to make."

"We don't know the entire story of what happened ourselves, but we do know that a group of about five bandits or so led this attack, and also that Kagome was able to create her own barrier and sustain it long enough to give birth to Kaoru in peace. The Toradashi were exterminated because of Kagome's power, and because of that the Nakushima were able to grow and expand their clan, since no demon is still able to touch that territory."

"And so that's why they pray to the Goshinboku on Kaoru's birthday every year; she pretty much did them a favor by killing off their rivals." Mayumi stated.

"That's right," Sango declared. "To them, they're paying their respects to the miko that died trying to save them."

"Which is all bullshit, of course," Shippo couldn't force it down any more and had to let it out for all to hear.

Sango gave him a warning stare. "Shippo..."

"Kagome didn't die trying to _save_ them, or to stop their people from being opressed! She wasn't on some great conquest to the Dark Country in an honorable attempt to purify it of all the demons or whatever. What happened was _horrible_. It was a tragic accident. Inuyasha and Kagome were unlucky enough to get caught in the middle of a stupid civil war that cost all of us the life of someone you can't place a value on! Inuyasha might be strong enough to not want to blame them for everything, but I'm not that noble. No one in that damned pilgrimage would ever understand what we lost, and like hell will I ever welcome them here. Ever."

Shippo didn't give anyone time to respond and exited from their home, leaving them with nothing but the vibrations of a slamming door. The three young adults looked to their parents in confusion.

"I don't remember ever seeing Shippo this upset," said Mayumi.

"Yeah," Shuichi agreed, "he's usually so carefree all the time."

"We all tend to forget what this has put Shippo through..." Miroku said with a heavy heart as he looked to his wife.

Sango nodded. "Shippo was just a small child when he met Inuyasha and Kagome, children. She's been like a mother to him, so losing her must still hurt after all this time."

Mai listened on with a hand to her chest. She'd been only fighting alongside him for a few years now, but he had always been apart of their family, always that constant smile and mischievous attitude. While feeling such sympathy for Inuyasha and his family, she sometimes forgot how Shippo was included in that.

She looked at the door he had fled from just moments ago and sighed. _Oh, Shippo..._

* * *

**T**atsuya paused in his tracks as the group behind him stopped as well. They finally reached their destination:

The Sacred Tree.

Even though he had made the trip every year since he was a boy, this was one of the few times he did it as a leader, and the first time doing it without his sister. He looked up at the sky and exhaled as the wind blew against him.

"We are all witnesses," he began, "to the holy resting place of the saint that saved us all. May I guide you now to bow your heads as I lead you in prayer." And without question the twenty or so villagers dropped to their knees and bowed before the tree.

"Oh, heavenly Father, may you please allow us to give our thanks to this wonderful woman who, with your help, was able to purify our lands and sacrifice herself to save us. To these people she is their beloved miko, but we know you have chosen her to lead the battle in the purification of all demons in this land, and for those blind to your power to be saved, just as we were.

Saint Kagome was the best blessing the people of Nakushima could ever ask for, and she will be our deliverance."

Tatsuya opened his eyes as he placed a hand on the base of the great Goshinboku, under which ashes rested in peace. But his smile made the wind blow in ferocity and the rain slowly picked up again. He embraced the drops that fell to his brow and cluctched his palm tight.

_She will be our deliverance indeed...I will make sure of that._

* * *

_**Who exactly is this Tatsuya? And what plans does he and his village have for their "saint" Kagome? **_

_**A/N: Sorry if this got pretty long, but I like to imagine each chapter being like an episode, so they might be around this length. Typing parts of this was a bit depressing, admittedly, but even though I love Kagome with all my heart, all of this sadness I promise will have a great payoff! I'm very excited about where this can lead I hope at least one of you can share in the excitement. The next chapter should be up in a week or so, so thank you all who have the chance to read and review!**_


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